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Write about a character trying to heal an old rift.

Posted in Sad on Nov 1, 2022

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✍️ 42 stories

Broken

Winner of Contest #153 🏆

TW: This story alludes to sexual abuse, and contains some violence.It has been ten years since you told me to leave and never come back. I think about that night sometimes. I replay it in my mind. It was mostly my fault. I took my anger out on you, because I couldn’t take it out on him. I think I blamed you, for not noticing, for not stopping it. Eventually, you kicked him to the curb, but that didn’t quiet my anger. It continued to explode. That was the night I shattered plate after plate against the side of your house. You screamed at me t...

164 likes 92 comments 92
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Katie

Submitted to Contest #153

"Last night I dreamt that you killed me."I tried to laugh, but my attempt was weak, and Kate wasn't convinced. She never seemed to be. "Y'know," she began, leaning back in her chair as if to get as far away from me as possible without just standing up and leaving, "when you invited me for coffee, that really wasn't what I was expecting you to start with." Naturally, she was defensive and I tried to backpedal. This had always been the yin and yang of our relationship."I just thought it might be an interesting ice breaker.” A lie, fo...

65 likes 38 comments 38
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Sodade

Submitted to Contest #153

The party is ruined the moment Gwen spots Wesley standing by the piano. The rest of the spacious condo, with its polished hardwood floor and tastefully arranged furniture, grows muted. The gentle chatter of the other upscale guests and the moody voice of Cesária Évora coming from the artfully hidden speakers blur into the background. All she sees is Wesley. All she hears is his laugh.The host, Ben Dambers, hovers around Wesley, with a bowtie on his neck and a martini in his hand. His boisterous voice, already half-laughing, starts that old n...

37 likes 40 comments 40
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The Art of Aestivation

Submitted to Contest #153

Aestivation: a state of dormancy assumed in response to harsh environmental conditions, such as drought or extreme heat. One of the few times my father cried in his life was when the OB squinted into the screen at the sonogram and said I was a boy.  A father of four daughters, José Antonio Villanueva had only ever wanted a son. So much so, in fact, that he remained convinced each of my sisters were boys until the day they were born. This forced my mother into last-minute name changes for her beloved girls: Antonia, Juana, Alejandra,...

34 likes 3 comments 3
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'Green Bean Couch'

Shortlisted for Contest #153 ⭐️

TW: substance abuse, minor wound (gore), destruction of objects in anger (violence) Rose gripped her coffee mug by the handle, glaring at the messy countertop. She began to sweep crumbs onto the floor with her empty hand, then stopped, realizing she’d have to sweep them up later. “What have I told you about leaving messes, Harold?” she murmured. “Soon, it’ll attract pests. You know I hate pests.” She muttered angry nothings about roaches and rats until her eyes caught on the empty barstool where Harold usually sat. She glared at the empty sp...

20 likes 9 comments 9
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Gingerbread Mafia

Submitted to Contest #153

Many folk tales describe hapless children marking their paths with stones, to not get lost. Now, it’s become a thing. Once humble hiking trails have transformed into gleaming, shimmering paths to a fantasyland. Or to the dark lair of a witch. Trends, fads and fashions prove spontaneous generation. Like ‘love locks’ on a bridge. Who expects the weight of so many padlocks to threaten its structural integrity? What captures the popular imagination? Always innovating, the fad had outliers. A flock of birds reportedly swarmed a man tossing morse...

18 likes 9 comments 9
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Five Steps From Hatred

Submitted to Contest #153

Sometimes you loathe someone so much, your mind and judgement become clouded by rage and along the way, your loathing becomes morphed. All is needed is for a “v” to replace the “a”, “t,” and “h”, and suddenly your mortal enemy who lives to boil your blood is the person you want to comfort you when life doesn’t go your way. There is a fine line between hating someone so purely your innocent soul wishes only to murder them and loving someone. Love is a strong force not to be meddled with. It attacks you at the most unexpected times. You might ...

15 likes 4 comments 4
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Why did you come back?

L J

Submitted to Contest #153

She opened the door. A stranger was standing on the doorstep, yet not quite a stranger nor yet a friend. She blinked, not wanting to know if it was really him. "Hi mom. Will you let me in?" he smiled. She remembered the way his dimples appeared and the crinkle in his eyes, like he knew a good joke but wasn't going to share it. This was not a joke. "I haven't seen you in ten years. How are you...I mean. What are you...? mom asked." I mean. Why did you do this? " "Mom, I told you. I had too. I'm a woman. I always was. " "Just because ...

13 likes 6 comments 6
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He who angers you controls you.

Submitted to Contest #153

“ If she’s going to be there, count me out. I’d rather sign up for a colonoscopy and mammogram on the same day than spend another second in that person’s presence,” Anita said as she sipped on her glass of wine. Anita had met up with Todd and Lisa for their weekly lunch at Mortellos and of course, the topic of discussion that keeps coming up is their 20 year high school reunion. She didn’t want to be a Debbie downer, but the idea of attending St. Peter High School’s reunion was something that Anita had been dreading since the Facebook invit...

12 likes 2 comments 2
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The Rift Shift

Submitted to Contest #153

The Rift Shift FredA short, rather thin man in his early thirties walks into a clothing store, and nearly collides with a row of hanging shirts when he sees someone a few rows down, someone who quickly disappears from view. He begins to talk to himself without speaking the words.“Well, Fred, there’s that bastard John Ford. I haven’t seen him for years, not since we both graduated from high school. I heard that he moved to another side of the city, and none of the high school guys that I still keep in touch with have seen him s...

12 likes 0 comments 0
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Emma

Submitted to Contest #153

2001Seven-year-old Jimmy was wandering around the street kicking a dusty rock around, bored out of his mind. It was the middle of summer so most of his friends were either at the lake or on vacation with their parents. His mom had to work and so there he was – stuck in the hot city watching the clouds of dust rise every time cars passed by. Mother promised him ice cream but said he needed to stop whining and wait for her outside for a few minutes. Jimmy didn’t know how much time had passed but thought it must’ve been more than a few minutes....

11 likes 4 comments 4
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The Spell

Submitted to Contest #153

The icy Nordic wind blew across the dark Baltic Sea, hastily sweeping the clouds across a full blue moon. With a deep breathe she focused her concentration and began the ritual she had been preparing for for so many years. The timing was crucial and the final ingredient had to be dropped into the cauldron at the precise moment the last word of the incantation was uttered.  She had relentlessly practiced the ritual for weeks before the eve of the rising of the Mother Moon. Everything was prepared meticulously just as it was revealed to...

11 likes 8 comments 8
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Offers Given, Burdens Gained

Submitted to Contest #153

The Nsoro are merciless bastards, of that I am sure. You had hoped that this wedding would be the first step to peace between our tribe and theirs but, Your Radiance, my confidence dwindles by the minute. The day began well enough. Everything was in its rightful place, as was everyone. However the trouble came just before the morning invocation. The twin grooms caught sight of the garments they were meant to wear and went on a rampage. Apparently, the Nsoro hold orange as a holy sign and blue as the source of nightmares and inauspicious tidi...

11 likes 8 comments 8
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Late Night Truces

Submitted to Contest #153

*Content warning: some violence and language* Lee Park’s first thought when he discovers his childhood rival has a cousin is far from polite. Shit. There’s more of ‘em? The Tri-State Martial Arts Tournament had pitted him against newcomer, Chiyo Hamada, for his third match and while a fist to the face might not be the most formal of introductions, he can’t say he wasn’t the slightest bit impressed by her strength. She knew how to pack a punch. How to properly generate the right amount of torque with every meticulous swerve of her hip...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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Offering The Olive Branch

Submitted to Contest #153

The chill autumn breeze blew the dead brown leaves in swirls across the path as Luthar steered Stepper over the familiar ground. He’d not set foot in this place since he was eight years old, yet the route seemed as familiar as an old pair of boots. North of Whitestar there was little in the way of civilisation, save for the occasional farmstead or small hamlet. Luthar’s destination was the northernmost village which stood at the entrance to the Frozen Pass, an old trade route in the icy mountains long since abandoned to the snows. He could s...

10 likes 1 comment 1
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